Toothbrush



March 17, 1953 R. BRESSLER 2,631,320

TOOTI-IBRUSH Filed May 12, 1950 IN V EN TOR.

Patented Mar. 17, 1953 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE TOOTIERUSH Louis B. Bressler, Southampton, Mass.

Application May 12, 1950, Serial No. 161,694

1 Claim. 1

My invention relates to new and useful improvements in toothbrushes and is directed more particularly to toothbrushes having flexible bristle-carrying head portions and to an improvement in the means for producing same.

It is the principal object of my invention to provide a novel and improved construction of the type in which the toothbrush has a resilient bristle supporting head portion which is flexible whereby the same may conform to the contour of the teeth when the brush is in use.

One of the primary purposes of my invention is to provide structural and operational improvements in devices of the class to which reference has been made, which improvements not only simplify the structure as such but also provide important distinct advantages in strength, durability and the like.

Another object of my invention is to provide a brush which can freely and readily fit itself to a set of teeth of any configuration and/or dimension so as to keep the bristles thereof in close touch with the teeth surfaces by very reason of this aforementioned flexibility.

With the above primary object in view, it is another object of my invention to provide a construction of the above described character which is not only distinctive in its appearance and practical in its value but also reliable in its operation and relatively simple in its construction.

My invention also consists in certain new and original features of construction hereinafter set forth and claimed in conjunction with the annexed drawings which illustrate a certain form of embodiment thereof, which form is deemed preferably since the same has been found in practice to give satisfactory and reliable results, although it is to be understood that the various parts can be changed within the scope of the claim without departing from the broad aspects and spirit of the invention.

All of the above cited objects, I accomplish by means of such structure and relative arrangement of parts, as will fully appear by a perusal of the description below and by various specific features which will be hereinafter set forth.

With the foregoing and various other novel features and advantages and other objects of my invention as will become more apparent as the description proceeds, the invention consists in certain novel features of construction and in the combination and arrangement of parts as will be hereinafter more particularly pointed out in the claim hereunto annexed and more fully described and referred to in connection with the accompanying drawings wherein:

Figs. 1 and 2 are top plan and side elevational views respectively of the resilient leaf member of my invention; and

Figs. 3 and 4 are top plan and side elevational views respectively of the toothbrush of my invention.

Referring now to the drawing more in detail, and referring more particularly to the preferred form of my invention, 1 have shown a toothbrush generally indicated by 2 which includes a handle member 4 of conventional design and a head portion 6.

The head portion generally designated by 6 comprises a plurality of separate bristle supporting sections 8, l0, l2 and M which are spaced apart as shown, so as to be movable relative to each other as will subsequently appear.

A leaf spring member I6 is provided which in the preferred form of the invention is relatively thin and generally elongated as shown in Figs. 1 and 2. It is preferably made of a spring metal so as to be flexible and yieldable for the purposes of the invention.

A plurality of apertures [8 are provided which are spaced throughout the length of the member l6. On the outer longitudinal side edges of the member [6 cut-out portions or recesses 20 are provided for purposes as will presently be observed.

The toothbrush may be formed by a mouldingoperation in which case the spring member I6 will be inserted in a mould and the brush formed therein. There are various types of plastic which are suitable for forming the structure.

The formed sections and head end of the handle carry tufts of brustles indicated by 24, upper ends 26 of the tufts being embedded in plastic.

In brush manufacture it is common practice to provide tuft sockets in the brush and to secure upper ends of the tufts therein by staples or the like. The sockets are frequently formed by drilling operations.

Although it has been stated that brush may be formed by a moulding operation and that the tufts of bristles may be secured in holes, there may be other ways adapted to produce the novel structure.

According to the invention the tufts of bristles are disposed to coincide with the openings I8 and recesses of the spring member l6 as shown in Fig. 3. The ends of the bristle tufts will be out of contact with the member I6.

The spring member being relatively thin, has a considerable transverse width and length so as to extend throughout a large area of the sections and handle end. There is then a considerable cross sectional area of the spring member at adjacent portions of the sections so that the said sections are relatively movable or yieldable.

Other apertures l9 spaced from the bristle apertures are provided. These apertures are not in alignment with bristle tufts and material of the end head and sections may enter these apertures to assist in securing the member IE to the sections.

The head sections of many brushes embodying the novel features of the invention have been flexed many hundreds of times without rupture or crystallization of the member Hi. This is accounted for by the fact the said member has a considerable transverse width and even though it is relatively thin it has a considerable cross sectional area at its points of flexing.

Thus, the chief feature of the present invention resides in the fact that the head portion or the toothbrush in which the bristles are seated is composed of several small sections instead of a single large section as in the case of ordinary brushes and these sections are connected together by means of the thin leaflike member of steel.

As a result of this construction, the toothbrush is able to be flexed freely during actual use.

The invention may be embodied in other specific forms without departing from the essential characteristics thereof. Hence, the present embodiments are therefore to be considered in all respects merely as being illustrative and not as being restrictive, the scope of the invention being indicated by the appended claim rather than by the foregoing description, and all modificaticns and variations as fall within the meaning and purview and range of equivalency of the appended claim are therefore intended to be embraced therein.

What it is desired to claimand secure by Letters Patent of the United States is:

A toothbrush of the type having a flexible head comprising, a toothbrush having an elongated handle and a sectionalized head at one end thereof enclosing a resilient member, said head including an inner head section integral with an end of said handle and an outer head section and. a plurality of intermediate head sections between said inner and outer sections, said resilient member including an elongated flat thin strip of resilient metal having opposite ends disposed in said inner and outer head sections and having an intermediate portion extending through said intermediate head sections, said resilient member being provided throughout its length with a longitudinal row of holes therethrough and on oppo site longitudinal edges with spaced recesses disposed in said head sections, and transversely spaced rows of longitudinally spaced tufts of bristles having upper ends thereof secured in said head sections with the tufts of adjacent rows of tufts extending across said head sections transversely of said head sections, upper ends of said tufts disposed to coincide with the openings and recesses of said resilient member and being out of contact therewith. I

LOUIS R; 'BRESSLER.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,456,723 Izawa Sept. 4, 1923 1,735,582 Meadofi Nov, 12, 1929 1,928,328 Carpentier :Sept. 26, 1933 2,254,365 Griffith et a1. Sept. 2, 1941 2,438,268 Bressler .Mar. 23', 1.948 2,443,297 Bressler June 15. 1948 

